Full-fashioned knitted slacks



Jan. 1957 F. v. HOFFECKER 3,298,204

FULL*FASHIONED KNITTED SLACKS Filed Feb. 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 k A J INVENTOR.

E g FRANK HOFFECKER BYWdMJZ tQ JQJ s/awL.

ATTORNEYS Jan. 17, 1967 F. v. HOFFECKER 3,298,204

FULL-FASHIONED KNITTED SLACKS Filed Feb. 23, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: FRANK \l. HOFFECKEE BYWMUAL ATTORNEYS United States Patent Gfiice ffig i 3,298,204 FULL-FASHIONED KNITTED SLACKS Frank V. Hoftecker, Chariotte, N.C., assignor to Huntley Knitting Mills, Inc, fork, 5.11., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Feb. 23, I965, Ser. No. 434,466 3 Claims. (Cl. 66I77) This invention relates to full-fashioned knitted ladies slacks and the method of producing the same on flat bed full-fashioned knitting machines wherein individual knitted blanks are fashioned while they are being knitted and then the blanks are connected together to provide a tailored fit to the slacks.

I-Ieretofore, tailored slacks have been produced by cutting the fabric to form garment panels of the required shape and then sewing these blanks together to form the garment. This procedure requires highly skilled labor and results in a great deal of fabric waste. It is also known to knit tubular blanks of a stretchable yarn with very little, if any, fashioning from one end to the other. The upper portions of these blanks are slit and sewed together to form a stretchable lower body covering garment, usually referred to as tights or leotards. This garment is stretched on the body in a tight condition and while it is suitable for wear on certain occasions, this garment does not have the neat, dressy appearance of the tailored slacks of the present invention.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a main object of the present invention to provide ladies full-fashioned knitted slacks which have neat and dressy appearance and which are fashioned to properly fit the wearer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a knit garment of the type described which includes a pair of full-fashioned front panels and a pair of fullfashioned rear panels that are each fashioned to the proper shape during the knitting operation so that they may then be economically secured together along their opposed selvages to form tailored slacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method of forming tailored slacks wherein the individual knitted blanks are fashioned during knitting and the leg portion of each blank gradually increases in width from the bottom upwardly to the crotch portion and the hip portions gradually decrease in width from the crotch to the top thereof so that the legs and hip portions of the slacks properly fit the wearer.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide knitted tailored slacks of the type described wherein the full-fashioned front and rear panels are identical except that they are opposite hand and they each are narrowed adjacent their inner edges in the hip portions to form crotch shoulders and narrowed adjacent their outer edges to taper the hip portions inwardly, and wherein the rear panels are further narrowed above the crotch shoulders to reduce the amount of material at the center of the back of the slacks.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURES 1 and 2 are elevational views of the two full-fashioned front blanks;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are elevations of the two fullfashioned rear blanks;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevation of the full-fashioned knitted slacks formed of the knitted blanks shown in FIGURES 14;

FIGURE 6 is a rear elevational view of the fullfashioned knitted slacks;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 7 in FIGURE 5 and showing the manner in which a zipper may be incorporated at one side of the slacks;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 88 in FIGURE 5 and illustrating the manner in which the upper edge of the slacks is turned and looped to enclose an elastic band therein; and

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 9-9 in FIGURE 3 and llustrating the manner in which the lower edge of the leg of the slacks is turned upwardly to form a hem.

The full-fashioned slacks are formed of a pair of elongated full-fashioned front blanks a, b (FIGURES 1 and 2) and a pair of elongated full-fashioned rear blanks c, d (FIGURES 3 and 4). The blanks are fashioned during the knitting operation to provide the proper fit to the slacks when the blanks are connected together and form the slacks shown in FIGURES 5 and 6. The garment blanks are preferably knit of a non-elastic, relatively heavy yarn to provide substantial body to the fabric so that the legs of the slacks will retain a crease. Also, this type of knit fabric gives the slacks a neat tailored look and helps the slacks retain their shape when they are being worn.

Since the front blanks a, b are identical, except for being opposite-hand, only the knitting of the front blank a will be described in detail and the same reference characters with the prime notation added will be applied to the corresponding parts of the front blank b. For purposes of description, the front blank :1 is bracketed and divided into integrally knit lower and upper parts which may be termed the leg portion In and the trunk and hip or body portion I1. A crotch area is formed at the juncture of the leg and body portions 1%, 11 along the dashdot line 12.

It is preferred that the garment blank a be knit from the bottom of the leg It to the top of the body portion 11 and that the courses run transversely of the blank a so that the wales run longitudinally thereof. When the blank a is knit from the bottom to the top (FIGURE 1), the fabric is gradually widened in the leg portion 10 and narrowed in the body portion 11. However, it is to be understood that the blank a could also be knit from top to bottom and then the body portion 11 would be widened while the leg portion 10 would be narrowed.

The knitting of the blank a begins at the bottom of FIGURE 1 and successive courses of the same length (knit on the same number of needles) are formed up to the dash-dot line 13 to provide suflicient material for subsequently forming a hem or cuff at the lower end of the leg portion 10, in a manner to be later described. At the dash-dot line 13, the blank is gradually widened by increasing the number of needles knitting in successive courses, to the dash-dot line 14. This widening out of the blank may be carried out by increasing the length of the path of travel of the yarn carrier on the full-fashioned knitting machine or transfer points may be utilized to shift stitch loops outwardly adjacent opposite sides of the blank after the knitting of the selected courses while the length of travel of the yarn carrier is also correspondingly increased to feed yarn to the additional needles which receive the transferred stitch loops. From the dash-dot line 14 to the dash-dot line 12, courses of the same length are preferably knit to complete the leg portion 10. As the blank a is knit from bottom to top, an inner selvage 16 is formed along one side and an outer selvage 17 is formed along the opposite side.

As knitting continues above the dash-dot line 12, successive courses are gradually narrowed adjacent the inner selvage 16. It is preferred that a few, for example, three stitch loops, at the selvage 16 be picked up following the knitting of selected courses and transferred inwardly of the blank to gradually reduce the width of the fabric from the right-hand side while the outer selvage 17 remains straight or vertical. As the fabric is narrowed adjacent the inner selvage 16, an inwardly curved crotch shoulder 18 is formed. The inward transfer of the stitch loops along the inner selvage 16 forms doubled stitch loops, generally known as narrowing marks, along a curved line, indicated at 19.

This curved line 19 of doubled stitch loops is formed so close to the inner edge 16 of the blank that they are hidden when the blanks are subsequently seamed together, in a manner to be presently described. The narrowing at the inner selvage 16 is continued up to the dash-dot line 20 and then a few courses of the same length are knit, up to the dash-dot line 21.

Above the dash-dot line 21, another narrowing operation begins with stitch loops being transferred inwardly from the outer selvage 17 while the inner or right-hand selvage 16 is maintained straight. In this narrowing operation, it is preferred that about stitch loops be picked up and transferred inwardly after the knitting of certain courses to form doubled stitch loops or fashioning marks along a curved line, indicated at 22. The number of stitch loops transferred and the frequency of the transfer can be varied to provide any desired curvature to the outer selvage 17 of the blank.

Upon completion of this narrowing operation, at the dash-dot line 23, a group of courses of equal length are knit to the top of the blank. Loose courses (courses in which the stitch loops are drawn longer than normal) are preferably formed at the dash-dot line 24 and at the end of the garment blank, along the dash-dot line 25. If desired, a number of ravel courses may be knit above the dash-dot line 25. These loose courses, along the dash-dot lines 24 and 25, serve as guides to aid the worker in turning and looping the waist band at the top of the garment, in a manner to be later described.

The other front blank b is formed in an identical manner to the first front blank a, except that it is oppositehand. Thus, the crotch shoulder 18 is formed by transferring stitch loops inwardly from the inner selvage 16 and stitch loops are transferred inwardly from the outer selvage 17 in the upper portion of the body portion 11'.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the first elongate rear fashioned knitted blank '0 is divide-d into a leg portion and a body portion 31 that are joined at the crotch portion, along the dash-dot line 32. The blank 0 is provided with an inner selvage 36 and an outer selvage 37 which each extend from the bottom to the top of the blank. In knitting this blank 0, the same number of needles knit in successive courses to form the cuff or hem portion, up to the dash-dot line 33. From the dash-dot line 33 to a dash-dot line 34, a widening operation takes place and the width of the blank is gradually increased to provide the desired shape to the leg portion 30. From the dashdot line 34 to the dash-dot line 32, the same number of needles knit to complete the leg portion 30.

As knitting continues above the dash-dot line 32, the blank is narrowed 'by picking up and transferring stitch loops at the inner selvage 36 to form the curved crotch shoulder, indicated at 38. It is preferred that three stitch loops at the inner selvage 36 be picked up and moved inwardly after certain of the courses are knit to form doubled stitches or fashioning marks along a curved line 39. The narrowing continues up to a dash-dot line 40 Where successive courses are knit of the same length, up to the dash-dot line 41.

At the dash-dot line 41, a second narrowing operation begins with groups of stitch loops being transferred inwardly from the outer selvage 37 to for-m double stitches or fashioning marks along a curved line 42. It is preferred that about 25 stitch loops be picked up and transferred after certain courses to provide the desired curve at the outer selvage 37. This narrowing adjacent the outer selvage 37 continues up beyond a dash-dot line 43 where an additional narrowing operation begins. From the dash-dot line 43 to a dash-dot line 44, a group of adjacent stitch loops is picked up at the inner selvage 36 and transferred inwardly following the knitting of certain courses to form doubled stitches along a line 45. Thus, in the area between dash-dot lines 4-3, 44, stitch loops are transferred inwardly from each of the selvages 36, 37 to narrow the fabric at each selvage.

Above the dash-dot line 44, the same number of needles knit to the end of the blank and loose courses are preferably formed along a dash-dot line 46 and along the last course, indicated by the dash-dot line 47. If desired, a plurality of waste or ravel courses may be knit following the last course of each of the garment blanks.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the other rear blank d is identical to the rear blank c, except that it is oppositehand. Thus, the crotch shoulder 33' and the narrowing lines 39, 45' are formed adjacent the inner selvage 36' while the narrowing line 42 is formed adjacent the outer selvage 37.

The knitting of the garment blanks shown in FIG- URES 1-4- may be varied to form knitted slacks of various sizes. be increased or decreased by correspondingly increasing or decreasing the number of needles knitting in the various sections.

The slacks are preferably made in several sizes, for example, sizes 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16. As an illustrative but non-limiting example, it has been found that a size 12 garment can be made by knitting the front panels a, b (FIGURES 1 and 2) with the following number of courses and needles in the various sections. At the bottom of the leg portion 11 the hem or cuff portion is knit on 120 needles for 100 straight courses up to the dash-dot line 13. At the completion of the widening of the fabric in the leg, at the dash-dot line 14, 212 needles are knitting and 602 courses have been knitted from the dash-dot line 13. Then, 50 courses are knit on these 212 needles to form the straight portion up to the dash-dot line 12. The fabric is then narrowed during the knitting of the next courses and adjacent the inner selvage 16 to the dash-dot line 20. Then, 60 straight courses are knit to the dash-dot line 21. During the knitting of the next 157 courses, the fabric is narrow-ed from the outside selvage 17, to the dash-dot line 23, where there are then 106 needles knitting. The remaining portion, above the dash-dot line 23, is knit on these 106 needles for 65 courses to complete the knitting of the blank.

In order to form the slacks shown in FIGURES 5' and 6, from the full-fashioned blanks shown in FIG- URES 14, the outer selvages 17, 37 of the blanks a, d are stitched together from one end to the other to form an outer seam indicated at 50 in FIGURE 5. The outer selvages 17, 37 of the blanks b, c are seamed together to form an outer seam 51 (FIGURE 5 The inner selvages 16, 36' of the blanks a, d are seamed together from the bottom of the leg portions 10, 10 up to the lower ends of the corresponding crotch shoul ders 18, 38' to form an inner scam 52. The inner selvages 16', 36 of the panels b, c are seamed together up to the lower portions of the corresponding crotch shoulders 18, 38 to form another inner seam 53. The inner selvages of the body portions of the front blanks a, b are seamed together from the corresponding crotch shoulders 18, 18' and to the tops of the blanks to form a front seam 54 (FIGURE 5). The inner selvages of the body portions of the rear blanks c, d are seamed together from the corresponding crotch shoulders 38, 38' and to the tops of the blanks to form a rear seam 55 (FIGURE 6).

At this point, the seamed together body portions 11, 11', 31, 31' form the trunk portion of the slacks while the seamed together leg portions 10, 10', 3t), 3% form the legs of the slacks. The lower ends of each of the legs are preferably folded up inside, as illustrated in FIGURE 9, and sewed in place by lines of stitching indicated at 56 to form turned hems at the lower ends of each of these legs. The upper end of the garment may be finished to For example, the Width of the garment may provide a Waistband by folding the upper edge inwardly and looping the fabric together along the loose courses, as indicated bythe looping stitch line 57 in FIGURE 8. It is preferred that an elastic 'band 58 (FIGURE 8) be incorporated in the turned waistband. If desired, a slide fastener, such as a zipper, indicated at Z in FIGURE 7, may be stitched into position at the upper end of the outer seam 51, that joins the outer selvages of the front panel 22 and the rear panel c.

The finished slacks are thus tailored to provide the proper fit to the body. The slacks may be formed in an economical manner since the individual panels are shaped during the knitting operation to provide the proper fit when the selvages are connected together. The body portions of the panels are fashioned in such a manner that the slacks properly fit around the waist and hips of the wearer. For example, the lines of narrowing marks 22, 42 adjacent the upper portion of the outer seam 51 and the fashioning marks 22, 42' adjacent the upper portion of the outer seam 50 make the garment fit the hips of the wearer while the fashioning marks 45, 45 adjacent the upper portion of the rear seam 55 make the garment properly fitacross the small of the back, in the rear area beneath the waistband of the slacks. Also, the formation of the curved crotch shoulders 18, 18 and 38' insure a proper fit of the garment in the crotch area.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A pair of full-fashioned knitted slacks providing a conforming fit on the body of a wearer, said slacks comprising (a) a pair of elongated knitted front panels having inner and outer selvages along opposite sides thereof,

(b) a pair of elongate knitted rear panels having inner and outer selvages along opposite sides thereof, each of said front and rear panels having integral leg, trunk, waistband and crotch shoulder portions and also having curved lines of fashioning marks spaced a predetermined distance inwardly from and extending parallel to the outer selvage of said trunk portion and the inner selvage of said crotch shoulder portion to provide a conforming fit of the slacks on the hips and in the crotch of the wearer, each of said rear panels having a curved line of fashioning marks spaced a predetermined distance inwardly from the inner selvage of the trunk portion thereof and extending parallel to the inner selvage for a predetermined distance downwardly from said waistband portion to provide a conforming fit of the slacks across the small of the back of the wearer,

(c) a pair of outer seams connecting the outer selvages of said front panels to the corresponding selvages of the rear panels,

(d) a pair of inner seams connecting the inner selvages of said leg portions of said front panels to the corresponding inner selvages of the leg portions of said rear panels,

(e) a front seam connecting the inner selvages of said waistband, trunk and crotch shoulder portions of said front panels, and

(f) a rear seam connecting the inner selvages of said waistband, trunk and crotch shoulder portions of said rear panels.

2. A pair of knitted slacks according to claim 1 wherein the selvages of said waistband portion of each of said front and rear panels are substantially straight and parallel to each other, and wherein said waistband portions comprise turned, tubular portions and include an elastic band therewithin.

3. A pair of knitted slacks according to claim 1 including a slide fastener connecting the outer selvages of the waistband and upper trunk portions of one of said front panels and one of said rear panels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,387,405 10/1945 Neilson 2-227 2,697,925 12/1954 Goodman 2-227 X 2,783,631 3/1957 Sumner 66-173 X 2,983,128 5/1961 Goff et al 2227 X 3,128,475 4/1964 Rice et al. 2-227 X 3,143,741 8/1964 Tyroler 2-227 FOREIGN PATENTS 655,354 1/1963 Canada.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

A. R. GUEST, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PAIR OF FULL-FASHIONED KNITTED SLACKS PROVIDING A CONFORMING FIT ON THE BODY OF A WEARER, SAID SLACKS COMPRISING (A) A PAIR OF ELONGATED KNITTED FRONT PANELS HAVING INNER AND OUTER SELVAGES ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, (B) A PAIR OF ELONGATE KNITTED REAR PANELS HAVING INNER AND OUTER SELVAGES ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, EACH OF SAID FRONT AND REAR PANELS HAVING INTEGRAL LEG, TRUNK, WAISTBAND AND CROTCH SHOULDER PORTIONS AND ALSO HAVING CURVED LINES OF FASHIONING MARKS SPACED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE INWARDLY FROM AND EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE OUTER SELVAGE OF SAID TRUNK PORTION AND THE INNER SELVAGE OF SAID CROTCH SHOULDER PORTION TO PROVIDE A CONFORMING FIT OF THE SLACKS ON THE HIPS AND IN THE CROTCH OF THE WEARER, EACH OF SAID REAR PANELS HAVING A CURVED LINE OF FASHIONING MARKS SPACED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE INWARDLY FROM THE INNER SELVAGE OF THE TRUNK PORTION THEREOF AND EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE INNER SELVAGE FOR A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID WAISTBAND PORTION TO PROVIDE A CONFORMING FIT OF THE SLACKS ACROSS THE SMALL OF THE BACK OF THE WEARER, (C) A PAIR OF OUTER SEAMS CONNECTING THE OUTER SELVAGES OF SAID FRONT PANELS TO THE CORRESPONDING SELVAGES OF THE REAR PANELS, (D) A PAIR OF INNER SEAMS CONNECTING THE INNER SELVAGES OF SAID LEG PORTIONS OF SAID FRONT PANELS TO THE CORRESPONDING INNER SELVAGES OF THE LEG PORTIONS OF SAID REAR PANELS, (E) A FRONT SEAM CONNECTING THE INNER SELVAGES OF SAID WAISTBAND, TRUNK AND CROTCH SHOULDER PORTIONS OF SAID FRONT PANELS, AND (F) A REAR SEAM CONNECTING THE INNER SELVAGES OF SAID WAISTBAND, TRUNK AND CROTCH SHOULDER PORTIONS OF SAID REAR PANELS. 